The South West Collaborative Professional Development

The South West Collaborative Professional Development

Research Project.

Final Report – July 2009.

Early in the Autumn Term of 2006 through various presentations to school and LA groups the idea of a collaborative professional development research project was suggested and expressions of interest were sought.

As a result of initial interest a number of individual discussions with head teachers and staff took place over the Autumn Term and by January 2007, 4 secondary schools and 2 primary schools were chosen to form the “S.W. Collaborative Professional Development Research Project” (CPDRP).

Members of the group are as follows:

John Brett, Head of Mathematics, SirJohnHuntCommunity College, Plymouth.

Penny Burnside, Headteacher, TiptonSt. JohnPrimary School, Sidmouth

Shirley Diggins, MathematicsTeacher, SirJohnHuntCommunity College, Plymouth.

Lorraine Hoey, Mathematics AST, SirJohnHuntCommunity College, Plymouth.

Jenny Maraspin, Senior teacher and ITT coordinator, Oakmead College of Technology, Bournemouth.

Keith Noble – Head of Mathematics, PooleGrammar School.

John Potter, Senior Teacher, ISCACollege of Media Arts, Exeter.

Michael Tuckett – Mathematics Subject Leader, TiptonSt. JohnPrimary School, Sidmouth.

Debbie Weible – Mathematics Subject Leader, OldwayPrimary School, Paignton.

The original intention was to research and trialvarious forms of collaborative professional development. The set up of the group coincided with the “NCETM International Research Conference”[1] and a number of members of the SW CPDRP group were able to secure places at this conference. The result of this and particularly the session on Lesson Study by Catherine Lewis[2]given at the conference was a strong view amongst the group that Lesson Study would be the focus for our project.

And so, at our first whole group meeting on March 21st 2007 we shared elements of the February international research conference to everyone and began to develop how we wanted to work. See here for a copy of the programme for this first event and a copy of the powerpoint used to introduce the day.

Claims for Lesson Study are bold and particularly in Japan, where it is used extensively, it is recognised as one of the reasons why:

a)pupil standards are good;

b)teachers’ levels of subject knowledge is high;

c)teachers’ knowledge and development of pedagogical skills is well advanced

and

d)teachers see themselves as professionals and the status of the profession is high.

The lesson study process involves the collaborative planning, teaching, focused observation and refining of a “research” lesson aimed at meeting some pre-prepared aim.

Most versions of Lesson Study consist of the following steps:

• Reflecting on pupils current skills and identifying a lesson study theme
• Usually in 3’s collaborative plan a lesson together
• One colleague teaches the lesson while others observe - the focus of observation being on the students’ learning.
• Meeting where colleagues reflect on learning
• Re-plan lesson in the light of what was learnt from first research lesson
• Re-teach research lesson
• Final reflection leading to report on learning

The aim of our group was to investigate, experiment with and implement lesson study in order to test these claims and find a model that would work in each of theschools involved in the project. Each school had some development funds to allow for the processes of lesson study in their own school (e.g. shared planning, observation and post-lesson discussion[3]) to be carried out and all members of the project met together once a term to share developments, debate issues arising from in-school work and to plan for future developments.

As our work developed we began to articulate some key principles regarding what makes for deep and lasting professional development.

Many initiatives have been promoted over the last 25 years (since the very influential Cockcroft Report in 1982), all with the aim of improving the learning of mathematics in our schools. Experience over this period tells us that it is when teachers own the process, work in collaboration with each other, start from what is happening in their own classrooms and keep developments close to the activity in their own classrooms, then most gains are made.

Stigler and Hiebert in their book “The Teaching Gap” (Free Press, 1999, ISBN: 0-684-85274-8), which describes the process of Lesson Study was influential in our thinking early on in the project. The following are some quotes from the book which struck us:

“Teaching is a cultural activity……… To put it simply we were amazed at how much teaching varied across cultures and how little it varied within cultures”.

“If teachers learned to teach by studying books and memorizing techniques, written recommendations might have their intended effect. But everything we have learned indicates that teaching is a cultural activity, and consequently the writing and dissemination of reform documents is an unrealistic way to improve education”.

“If you start with lessons, the problem of how to apply research findings in the classroom disappears”.

“The focus is on the lesson, not on the teacher who taught the lesson; the lesson, after all is a group product, and all members of the group feel responsible for the outcome of their plan”.

As our regular termly meetings developed we arrived at a meeting structure which we found helpful. It consisted of the following elements[4]:

• We begin with feedback from each of the schools involved on some significant aspect of their in-school work. In order to go beyond mere “reporting back”, we have used a strategy described by John Mason[5] where a distinction was made between giving an ‘account of’ an incident and ‘accounting for’ it.

Each person that feeds back tries to give a brief but vivid descriptionthat minimises explanation, justification, emotional commitment and theoretical interpretation (an ‘account of’). We then discuss this incident as a whole group and it is at this stage that we try to put forward some explanation, sometheorising about what has been observed (‘accounting for’). This is the point at which we begin to work on theissue and increase our understanding.

• We discuss an article from a research or professional association journal which is circulated and read ahead of the meeting.
• We always engage in some mathematical activity together and discuss the implications for our own subject knowledge and our classroom practice.

and

• We used a closed community which we set up on the NCETM portal to record our thoughts both during and in between meetings (See appendix 7 for a selection of some of these entries).

In relation to the last point, we have structured the on-line community we used so that we have a number of distinct headings under which we tried to make comments. These areas are as follows:

Managing lesson study.

This section is for comments related to the way we are managing “Lesson Study” in our schools/departments - the logistics of it, ways of making it work, difficulties, obstacles, etc.

Learning about our pupils.

This is for comments related to significant classroom incidents which reveal something about our learners. This could be related to their understanding of mathematics or something about the quality of their learning.

Learning about ourselves as teachers (classroom incidents).

This is for comments related to significant classroom incidents which reveal something about us as teachers and/or represent a learning point for us.

Learning about ourselves as teachers (staffroom discussions/meetings).

This is for comments related to significant staffroom/department discussions (either informally or in more formal meeting situations) which reveal something about our own thinking and development and/or that of our colleagues.

Our own mathematics.

This is for comments regarding any learning we are doing in relation to our own mathematical knowledge. This may be about learning something new; seeing something afresh and knowing it in a different way; feeling more confident about it; or even becoming aware of a lack of understanding of something.

Our own reading.

This is for comments regarding the effects on our thinking of any reading we have done.

After two years of working together supported by a regional NCETM grant, our funding has now come to an end but the group will continue to meet supported by its own resources as all felt that membership of the group was an important aspect of their own professional development.

Below are reflections from some of the participating teacher on the project, on what they did and how it has influenced their own and their colleagues’ professional development.

Appendix 1: Debbie’s Reflections.

When I reflect on my professional learning in mathematics so far over my teaching career, I realise that there are only one or two examples of CPD that resulted in any significant change to my teaching. Of course, I’ve picked up lots of ideas along the way and practiced some new techniques, but there are only a few examples that have given me the opportunity to spend a sustained amount of time reflecting on my practice and ‘experimenting’ in the light of new learning.

As a Subject Leader I have an added concern. How can I significantly influence the teaching of my colleagues? I can organise courses, observations, etc. but do things ever really change?

Getting involved with a project to research Lesson Study

We decided to get involved with this project as it seemed to fit with where we were as a school. We had done some work on coaching and mentoring and had begun to use an action research approach to implement new initiatives, most significantly as part of the Primary National Strategy National Whiteboard Pilot.

Lesson Study seemed the perfect next step and we were keen to have a go and see whether Lesson Study was right for us.

The key elements of Lesson Study

Over the last two years each KS2 year team has engaged in Lesson Study, with me, as

Subject Leader, facilitating the process. Each year team has taken a different focus but following the same cycle.

1)Identifying a focus for Lesson Study. It was important for us to identify two key focuses for each Lesson Study, one linked to an area of mathematics and another to the pupils’ mathematical behaviour. It was the second focus that has proved to be most significant.

2)Collaborative Planning. At Oldway we are used to planning in teams, but Lesson Study goes beyond that. For ownership of the lesson to be truly ‘shared’, teachers found that they needed to plan everything together down to the exact numbers to be used and examples to be given. In fact this discussion in itself proved to be extremely valuable as teachers discussed the impact of various choices.

3)The Research Lesson. It has been important for us to identify the Research Lesson as exactly that. It is a lesson where teachers involved are expecting to find something out. Everyone is clear that the focus for our observation is the impact of the teaching/lesson on the pupils’ learning. Initially each observer focused on a group of pupils but more recently we have found it more beneficial to have a special focus on an individual within that group.

4)Reflection on Learning. This is the area where I, as the Subject Leader, entered the process, to draw out learning from the Research Lesson. We found that an important part of the process was when teachers discussed what they’d seen and articulated their learning. It has been through these discussions that some significant learning has taken place and teachers have developed a much better understanding of pupils’ learning in mathematics.

5)Re-planning the Lesson. We found that our focus on the pupils’ mathematical behaviour encouraged us to plan more open-ended, less structured second lessons, to enable them to approach tasks more mathematically.

6)Re-teach Lesson. We initially thought that this would be with a different group of pupils but in fact, this has varied depending on the focus. Sometimes it has been more appropriate to revisit the learning with the same class.

7)Final Reflection. At the end of the process, year groups have been encouraged to briefly write up their learning. As we continue with this process it may be useful for year teams to present their findings to the rest of the school.

Impact so Far

• Real focus on understanding pupils’ learning in mathematics.
• Teachers have seen how the scaffolds they have put in place to support pupils have in fact often inhibited the pupils’ mathematical thinking and encouraged them to approach mathematics procedurally.
• Teachers now have a greater understanding about the difference between pupils “doing maths” and pupils “behaving mathematically”. The evidence of this is now seen in planning.
• There is greater emphasis on mathematical talk.
• Development of teachers’ subject knowledge – as subject leader I have been able to input into the professional dialogue and provide relevant, individual support – teachers are now asking me for information, advice and guidance on current thinking in mathematics education.

Appendix 2: Michael’s Reflections

An important part of being a teacher is to continuously try to get better at delivering great learning. To that end I have spent a good number of hours and days over my career wondering how to develop my teaching. I have been observed and judged, attended a wide variety of courses and been the recipient of a multitude of new teaching initiatives. Quite a few of them gave me good ideas and made important differences to the way I teach today. Even so, there was a sense of frustration, a sense that a lot of the time the training and initiatives were being done to me, or didn’t fit with the issues in my school.

What I was missing was the chance to work as a professional in my field as a teacher, to develop my own understanding of my role and to carry out my own research. To have a way of working where I could develop my teaching, enhance my subject knowledge and share my experiences with others in an atmosphere of equality and openness.

How we started.

I was lucky enough to be able to join the SW Collaborative Professional Development Project in January 2007. Initially the aim was to explore a range of forms of collaborative professional development, however the focus on Lesson Study as a particular focus of our project has been very powerful and after working with this project group for over two years I believe that lesson study may have many of the answers I have been looking for.

I teach in a small rural school in Devon. The other schools in the research team included a large primary, a grammar school and three comprehensive schools.

There is a wide range of literature relating to lesson study. It is worth having a look. Go wider than the recent document produced by the government. You will quickly discover that there are a range of views on what it is, how it is done and what the benefits are. We were lucky enough to be invited to attend a conference in London at which personal anecdotes and videos of an example of lesson study in the USA were discussed (see reference 1 in the introduction). We have also made a point of reading and discussing a range of research articles in our regular monthly project group meetings.

As a research group we started with a high degree of interest in the possible potential of lesson study. We balanced this by asking questions such as:

• Does it fit with the English model of teaching?
• Does it sit well with our school(s)?
• What can it do for teachers and children?

On conclusion of the two year project I feel that we can answer these initial questions.

Does it fit with the English model of teaching?

During the course of the past two years we have conducted 4 lesson studies in our school. We found that the principles of lesson study were not problematic. However, we did discover that it was important to have an established and agreed procedure. Without it the staff felt unsure and unhappy. I feel strongly that for our school the following principles allowed the most positive results:

• Always remember that it is the lesson that is being watched, not the teacher.
• Always ensure that all the staff observing have had a significant input into the planning of the lesson.
• Always follow up immediately with a debriefing. (We always ask the teacher who teaches the lesson to begin this process.)
• Understand that all teaching staff are equal and that the point of the study is to work on a teaching and learning issue pertinent to the whole group.

There are a whole host of other issues that will need to be discussed but for us these were the most important.

Does it sit well with our school?

In short, the answer is yes, although there were many challenges, for examples providing cover to release teachers, the teaching of mixed age classes, finding planning time, etc. Our first try went well. The second did not. We recognised that we had pushed too hard and learnt that some things must be done in a particular way. We are still learning how.

It became clear, very quickly, that although the schools in the research group had started from the same starting point that they were developing lesson study models that were fitting their schools. There were subtle and even not so subtle differences. We spent a great deal of time considering issues such as: